Billy Graham lived his faith
 

take a few of the boys in our church to Little Rock to hear Billy Graham preach in his crusade in War Memorial Stadium* where the Razorbacks played. Racial tensions were still high in 1958. Little Rock’s schools were closed in a last-gasp effort to stop integration* its kids dispersed to schools in nearby towns. Segregationists from the White Citizens Council and other quarters suggested that* given the tense atmosphere* oil painting wholesale it would be better if the Reverend Graham restricted admission to the crusade to whites only. He replied that Jesus loved all sinners* that everyone needed a chance to hear the word* and therefore that he would cancel the crusade rather than preach to a segregated audience. Back then* Billy Graham was the living embodiment of Southern Baptist authority* the largest religious figure in the South* perhaps in the nation. I wanted to hear him preach even more after he took the stand he did. The segregationists backed down* and the Reverend Graham delivered a powerful message in his trademark twenty minutes. When he gave the invitation for people to come down onto the football field to become Christians or to rededicate their lives to Christ* hundreds of blacks and whites came down the stadium aisles together* stood together* and prayed together. It was a powerful counterpoint to the racist politics sweeping across the South. I loved Billy Graham for doing that. For months after that I regularly sent part of my small allowance to support his ministry.Thirty years later* Billy came back to Little Rock for another crusade in War Memorial Stadium. As governor* I was honored to sit wholesale oil painting on the stage with him one night and even more to go with him and my friend Mike Coulson to visit my pastor and Billy’s old friend W. O. Vaught* who was dying of cancer. It was amazing to listen to these two men of God discussing death* their fears* and their faith. When Billy got up to leave* he held Dr. Vaught’s hand in his and said* “W.O.* it won’t be long now for both of us. I’ll see you soon* just outside the Eastern Gate*” the entrance to the Holy City.When I became President* Billy and Ruth Graham visited Hillary and me in the White House residence. Billy prayed with me in the Oval Office* and wrote inspiring letters of instruction and encouragement in my times of trial. In all his dealings with me* just as in that crucial crusade in 1958* Billy Graham lived his faith.Junior high school brought a whole new set of experiences and challenges* as I began to learn more about my mind* my bodyMichael Jackson painting my spirit* and my little world. I liked most of what I learned about myself but not all of it. And some of what came into my head and life scared the living hell out of me* including anger at Daddy* the first stirrings of ***ual feelings toward girls* and doubts about my religious convictions* which I think developed because I couldn’t understand why a God whose existence oil paintings I couldn’t prove would create a world in which so many bad things happened.My interest in music grew. I was now going to junior high band practices every day* looking forward to marching at football game halftimes and in the Christmas parade* to the concerts* and to the regional and state oil painting band festivals* at which judges graded the bands as well as solo and ensemble performances. I won a fair number of medals in junior high* and when I didn’t do so well* it was invariably because I tried to perform a piece that was too difficult for me. I still have some of the judges’ rating sheets on my early solos* pointing out my poor control in the lower register* bad phrasing* and puffy cheeks. The ratings got better when I grew older* but I never quite cured the puffy cheeks. My favorite solo in this period was an arrangement ofRhapsody in Blue* which I loved to try to play and once performed for guests at the old Majestic Hotel. I was nervous as could be* but determined to make a good impression in my new white coat* with red plaid bow tie and cummerbund.